MTV Newsroom › cobra-starship

MTV's Musical March Madness: Weezer Vs. My Morning Jacket, Muse Vs. Cobra Starship

Posted 3/16/11 4:15 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 2011 MTV Musical March Madness tournament rolls on with the last of the South bracket. Check back in tomorrow for the East bracket to roll out, and be sure to keep track of all your favorite races and vote for who you think should advance!

Just as a reminder, first round voting continues through Sunday night (March 20), and you can catch up with any match-ups you might have missed here. Let's get to the match-ups!

(7) Weezer vs. (10) My Morning Jacket
Both Weezer and My Morning Jacket are somewhat dormant at the moment, but they each have bulletproof pedigrees. Weezer spent 2010 putting out two albums (Hurley and Death to False Metal) and paying homage to two of their classic albums on tour. Meanwhile, My Morning Jacket are busy working on their new album Circuital, which promises to be one of the biggest releases of the year. Which one will move on?

(2) Muse vs. (15) Cobra Starship
Muse have become one of the biggest bands in the world thanks to their sharp songwriting and killer live show. But if you're going to talk about live shows, then Cobra Starship can go toe to toe with anybody. Do they have enough in the tank to take down Muse? Your votes will decide their fates!

Watch Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice break down this year's bracket!

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 , , , , , , ,

Congress Decides John Quincy Adams Is President: Wake-Up Video

Posted 12/1/10 8:00 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


Back in 2000 when the Supreme Court essentially ended up deciding who won one of the most contentious and absurd presidential elections in the history of the United States, it seemed thoroughly unprecedented. But for all the systems in place in the Constitution to streamline and protect our elections, there is a deep history of problematic results and questionable conclusions littering the American political landscape. Just such a thing happened on this day in 1824, when Congress decided that John Quincy Adams would become the sixth president of the United States despite the fact that he had only picked up 84 electoral votes.

Of course, the political landscape then looked much different than it does today, as voters were given four viable candidates that year: Adams, war hero Andrew Jackson, Speaker of the House Henry Clay and conservative southerner William Crawford. Each candidate represented a different part of the political spectrum, with Adams representing the Federalist movement (they believed in strong centralized government) and Jackson sticking up for the rights of the states (which was an ideal of the Democratic party back then). Crawford and Clay each represented slightly more extreme versions of either of the two front-runners.

On election day, the division of the electoral votes prevented any one candidate from picking up a winning majority. Jackson had the most with 99 and Adams was just behind him with 84. Because there was no clear winner, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution demands that the election be decided by Congress. Because Clay had a great deal of influence in Congress and aligned more with Adams, he convinced the body to vote for him and appoint him to the office. Not only did that enrage Jackson, but it helped galvanize his party, who easily took the White House four years later. In honor of this delightfully chaotic scene, enjoy Cobra Starship's "Hot Mess."


Tags , , ,

MTV's World Cup Of Rock: South Korea Vs. Uruguay

Posted 7/2/10 11:30 am 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 the Netherlands got the next round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup started this morning, but neither of those teams are still alive in the MTV World Cup of Rock. Yesterday, two huge match-ups kicked off the eight-team single-elimination tournament, and today the remaining four teams will throw down for the right to advance.

South Korea vs. Uruguay
South Korea surged through the opening round on the back of dynamic actor/singer/model Rain, who clearly covers the field well. Meanwhile, Uruguay had an extremely proficient first round thanks to the singular striking power of Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta (who was born in Montevideo). Which dynamic star will carry his team into the next round? 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!

Tags , , , , , ,

MTV's World Cup Of Rock: Uruguay Vs. Nigeria

Posted 6/28/10 4:30 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.

Today's 2010 FIFA World Cup action saw the end of the road for both Slovakia and Chile, both of whom fell to superior teams in the Netherlands and Brazil. Meanwhile, the MTV World Cup of Rock continues its run to the end of the group round. Check out the final match-up from Group A, where Mexico, France and Uruguay are currently fighting for supremacy.

Uruguay vs. Nigeria
Nigeria will need a miracle in order to advance, as they already appear to be on the short end of two other games. But that doesn't mean they can't play spoiler for Uruguay, who will take their Gabe Saporta-powered attack against the entirety of Afrobeat. Which team will stand victorious? Only you can decided.

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!

Tags , , , ,

MTV's World Cup Of Rock: France Vs. Uruguay

Posted 6/18/10 1:00 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.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup continues today with top-tier teams like England, the United States and Germany exchanging shots with able-bodied challengers. The MTV World Cup of Rock sees one of Group A's teams entering into its final match-up against a country that could easily play spoiler.

France vs. Uruguay
The French are currently keeping Mexico and Nigeria at arm's length with the power of some key international crossover stars. But can they fend off the attack of Uruguay and its favorite son Gabe Saporta, the man behind Cobra Starship? He's deadly on the attack, and he knows how to ride momentum to victory. Can the French make it a clean sweep or will Uruguay prevail in an upset?

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!

Tags , , , , ,

MTV News' Musical March Madness Championship Game: My Chemical Romance Vs. Coheed And Cambria

Posted 4/5/10 6:19 pm EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns 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 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

The finals are here! After a weekend full of high-stakes Final Four voting, we're down to our final two teams. Here to tell us about just how we got here, check out this video dispatch from sports reporters Dick Bagwell and Vincent Twice (also known as Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez from Cobra Starship, reprising their CobraCam characters).

So there you have it! After hundreds of thousands of votes and weeks of anticipation, we are down to the following match-up.

My Chemical Romance vs. Coheed and Cambria
The only two bands left standing have, not surprisingly, some of the most devoted and loudest fans on the entire Internet. Each have a clear claim to the championship, but only will will stand supreme. You know how they got here, now it's time to cast your vote. Who will be the champion of the MTV News Musical March Madness tournament?

Voting will be open until Tuesday evening, April 6, at 10 p.m. As it went down last round, the voting will remain mysterious until we're able to reveal the champ on Wednesday, April 7. And be sure to check out tonight's NCAA tournament final between Duke and Butler.

Tags , , , ,

MTV News' Musical March Madness: Foo Fighters Vs. AFI, Cobra Starship Vs. Shinedown

Posted 3/22/10 12:50 pm EST by in Music


It's Musical March Madness! The sprawling bracket — both a parody and a tribute to the NCAA basketball tournament, masterminded by MTV News' James Montgomery — takes the 65 biggest names in rock, splits them up into four regions, assigns 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 65. Over the next few weeks, we will present a series of polls that will allow you to vote for the match-ups presented in MTV News' Band Bracketology. You vote for the winners, we'll keep advancing the seeds and, in the end, we'll have some sort of champion. What will the winner receive? Little more than our esteem (as well as that of the fans) and some Internet bragging rights.

If you need more college basketball in your life today, the NIT continues tonight )featuring an intriguing game between Connecticut and Virginia Tech). The NIT is sort of silly, because it essentially decides who the 66th best team in the country is. We don't care about whoever the 66th best band is — we only care about who will be left standing at the end of MTV News' Musical March Madness. Here are two more interesting pairings.

(3) Foo Fighters vs. (14) AFI
This is how dominant Dave Grohl's band is: Despite the fact that they've essentially been off the grid for a year (save for a few shows and a greatest hits album), the Foos remain a dominant force in the rock world. Like Duke, they're always a big deal, no matter what is happening. On the other side is AFI, who have quietly put together two decades of greatness. But which veteran squad will come out on top?

(6) Cobra Starship vs. (11) Shinedown
Gabe Saporta's club is a quick, spry group who execute well and have a great time doing it. On the other side of the court, Shinedown dominate with power and hard work (they operate a lot like an Ivy League team). Which group will advance to the second round?

Tags , , , ,

Justin Bieber Can't Take Cobra Starship Dance Challenge, Rips Drum Solo Instead

Posted 12/4/09 10:05 am EST by in Music


On Tuesday night (December 1), Sacramento, California's ARCO Arena played host to the annual 107.9 The End Jingle Ball, the radio-sponsored holiday concert that officially kicked off the December holiday radio festival season. (Do you have a radio station that plays pop music in your mid-sized city? You probably have a Jingle Ball.) The show featured "American Idol" winner Kris Allen, Thanksgiving parade-approved rockers Boys Like Girls, party punkers Cobra Starship and 15-year-old singer Justin Bieber.

During Cobra Starship's set, frontman Gabe Saporta paused for a moment to address the fact that he and Bieber had been exchanging tweets about a dance-off that was meant to take place at the show. Bieber walked on stage to answer the challenge, though he was unfortunately unable to break out his funky moves because of his foot injury (he is still wearing a cast). One would think that Saporta would win the showdown by default, but Bieber had another trick up his sleeve.

The Canadian singer proceeded to climb up onto the drum riser and rip off a pretty impressive solo. "Thanks for showing me up during my own show," Saporta joked as Bieber exited the stage to massive cheers from the crowd. After the concert ended, Saporta tweeted, "Justin Bieber smoked me hard tonight. He couldn't win the dance off. But he shredded a gnarly drum solo. I back this kid on the real. Legit." You can check out video of the whole sequence — including Bieber's solo — in the video posted here.

Both Bieber and Saporta will be making the holiday rounds throughout the month — you can catch Bieber in St. Paul, Minnesota this Sunday (December 6) and Cobra Starship will be in Buffalo the same day.

Tags ,

Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta Tweets About Band's First Private Jet Trip

Posted 10/22/09 10:46 am EST by in Music


We already know that the members of Cobra Starship are down with party buses, but yesterday the group got a bit of a rock and roll upgrade. In order to get to a show at Indiana University, the band took its first ever trip on a private jet. Frontman Gabe Saporta narrated the experience via his Twitter and included a handful of photos from the trip.

"A Cobra first! Private jet motherf---ers!" Saporta tweeted last night. "We're on our way to play a free show w/Girl Talk @ Indiana University." That show, a charity event to benefit a local shelter for battered women and sponsored by Victoria's Secret, goes down tonight on the school's campus. Indiana competed against five other institutions during the summer to win a visit from Cobra Starship and mashup DJ Girl Talk.

In the meantime, Saporta was excited about the jet. He posted a total of three photos of the plane, and he even attached this caption to the photo above: "You know, I'd really love to continue talking about this conversation, but I got a private jet to catch." Friend and occasional multimedia rival Pete Wentz also weighed in on the band's trip. "I can't imagine how awesome you woulda been back in the heyday of rock music selling," the Fall Out Boy bassist wrote on Twitter.

Through it all, Saporta enjoyed the experience and was slightly amazed at the reaction it got from his bandmates and crew members. "I love how every member of Cobra & our crew tweeted about rollin' in a private jet," he wrote. "I guess we're not that jaded, huh fellas?"

Tags , , , , , , ,

Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta Doesn't Like Playing Telephone: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 10/19/09 5:02 pm EST by in Music


"My number never got out, but here's the catch: that shirt was professionally printed at some T-shirt place, and of course, someone at the T-shirt factory leaked an image of my shirt on the Internet. So I would get, like, 20 calls a day, kids pranking me, singing me songs, whatever. I thought it was funny for a while, and I thought that if I neither confirmed nor denied it, it would go eventually away. Guess what? I was wrong. I was dead wrong."

-Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta, on the fallout of Pete Wentz printing his phone number on a T-shirt and wearing it to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Saporta got so many calls that he had to change his phone number. "I canceled my old phone number, got a new number, and I made sure that my new phone number has '666' in it, that way no one will mess with me ever," he said. And he wasn't kidding: He got his revenge on Wentz at last week's Los Premios MTV awards in Los Angeles, where he revealed Wentz's e-mail address during the show. Wentz now knows the pain of information overload, as his account was bombarded with messages.

Tags , , , ,

Page 1 of 212
SPONSORS
AD:
©2012 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.