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Happy Birthday, Perry Farrell!

Posted 3/29/11 10:30 am EST by in Music


Frost the cupcakes and get the trick candles ready, because it's time to wish dynamic rock frontman and Lollapalooza godfather Perry Farrell a very happy birthday. The diverse rocker is now 52 years old and is still going strong as the frontman of seminal band Jane's Addiction. But on this special day, it's time to look back at one of his more underrated projects.

When it came time for Jane's Addiction to call it quits, Farrell staged the first Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for the band in the summer of 1991 (that tour also featured Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Ice-T and Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes and Fishbone). With the band in his rearview, Farrell formed a new combo called Porno for Pyros (which also featured Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins). The group released its first self-titled album in the spring of 1993 to big sales, mostly on the back of the heavy-rotation single "Pets" (a fantasy narrative about aliens visiting Earth and keeping humans captive as house pets). The band toured extensively and also notched a high-profile slot at Woodstock '94 (that was the one with the mud, not the one with the bonfires).

Their second album Good God's Urge was even more eclectic and envelope-pushing, and it also rocked a little bit harder than the debut. Released in the spring of 1996, Good God's Urge dove deep into darker sonic soundscapes and found Farrell focusing even more of his lyrical energy on mythology and the supernatural. The single "Tahitian Moon" is emblematic of Good God's Urge, as it features a blistering guitar riff, some island grooves and Farrell's ethereal voice. It's a killer song with a great video, and it's a perfect way to celebrate Farrell's birthday.


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Enron Files For Bankruptcy: Wake-Up Video

Posted 12/2/10 7:45 am EST by in Wake-Up Video


It's possible that there's no such thing as the perfect crime, though for a while the executives behind Enron couldn't be convinced of that. Even though nobody could quite determine exactly what Enron did (it had something to do with energy futures), they managed to fleece the world for years with phony accounting and layers upon layers of fraud. The name Enron has become associated with all that is wrong with American corporate culture and the first crack in the pavement that lead to the ongoing economic crisis. On this day in 2001, despite posting record profits for years, Enron filed for bankruptcy and began to pull back the curtain on one of the most incredible pieces of white collar crime in history.

The Enron scandal began to unravel in early 2001, but really took a nosedive in the fall of that year. With investor confidence plummeting, the stock price in a free fall and investigators poking around their accounting practices, Enron slowly began to cough up revelations about their actual worth, readjusting their earnings statements for the previous four years (though always noting that the losses accrued were mostly "investment losses" and didn't have anything to do with the actual performance of the company). In the end, it was revealed that Enron (in collusion with their accounting firm Arthur Anderson) hadn't really constructed an elaborate scheme of deception. Rather, they had simply made the numbers up, and it took years for anybody to notice.

In the wake of Enron, more massive conglomerates began to tumble (including WorldCom and Tyco), which created a series of chain reactions that helped unravel an already-fragile economy. Still, despite some new regulations, certain lawmakers remain adamant that the free market can exist unchecked. In honor of Enron's staggering crimes, enjoy Jane's Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing."


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Lady Gaga's Stage At Lollapalooza Will Be Huge: The MTV News Quote Of The Day

Posted 6/15/10 5:00 pm EST by in Music


"I actually said, 'Who's the chick with all the clothes, because this is my festival and she's got [a lot of clothes racks]. We've got one rack.' I gotta follow this chick and see what's going on. But she had this sweet smile. And she was real mischievous, so I liked her. She asked for a giant stage, so we spent like $100,000 to give her a giant stage. We spent close to $150,000 to house the production she's gonna do. And I say yeah, let's do it."

-Lollapalooza founder and Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, speaking to MTV News about meeting Lady Gaga for the first time and the elaborate plans she has for this summer's festival. Gaga will be headlining one of the nights of this year's Lollapalooza, which will once again be held in Grant Park, right in the middle of downtown Chicago. The festival will take place on August 6-8 and will also feature Soundgarden, Green Day, Arcade Fire, the Strokes, MGMT and Phoenix, among dozens of others.

Farrell spoke to MTV News on the red carpet of Monday night's (June 14) Activision event at the annual E3 conference in Los Angeles. He first met Gaga when she performed on a side stage at Lollapalooza in 2007. Still a brunette and wearing little more than a bikini during her afternoon set, Gaga managed to impress the small crowd and left an impression with her very early work. Three years later, she is headlining the same festival — which is expected to draw over 75,000 people per day to Grant Park.

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'Robin Hood' Preparation Soundtrack: DJ Khaled, Lil Jon Take You To Sherwood Forest

Posted 5/14/10 10:30 am EST by in Music


It's Friday, and you know what that means: It's time to prepare for the cinema this weekend. A number of eclectic pictures open up today, including the Queen Latifah/Common romantic comedy "Just Wright" and the Amanda Seyfried-starring chick flick "Letters to Juliet." But if your vision of summer consists of action, drama, archery and speeches by Russell Crowe, then there's one choice for you this weekend. "Robin Hood," directed by Ridley Scott ("Gladiator," "Alien") and starring Crowe and Cate Blanchett, tells the origin story of a great English folk tale. The stories surrounding Robin Hood are essentially about the empowerment of the public over tyranny, and the character's signature move of stealing from the rich to feed the poor is an almost saintly bit of heroism. "Robin Hood" turns the story into a piece about guerilla warfare and puts Crowe in the title role.

Such a sprawling action epic requires the right soundtrack, so while you get ready to shout along with Robin, Friar Tuck, Maid Marion and Little John, take the video playlist below for a spin. You can explore Robin's core philosophy (Jane's Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing"), dip into some tunes about Robin's weapon of choice (Jupiter One's "Flaming Arrow," ABC's "Poison Arrow") and check out how Robin's right hand man's namesake is doing (Lil Jon's "Get Low"). There are also a few nods to elements from the movie, including the famous forest (Sherwood's "You Are"), Friar Tuck (Hootie & the Blowfish's "Tucker's Town) and the one of the reasons for Robin's rebellion (Erase Errata's "Tax Dollar"). There's also N.E.R.D.'s "Lapdance," just because of the "I'm an outlaw" lyric.

But let's begin with DJ Khaled, who reminds us something that Robin probably would agree with: "I'm So Hood."

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Where Does Rihanna's 'Russian Roulette' Fit In The History Of Racy Covers?

Posted 10/20/09 5:26 pm EST by in Music


Why settle for one controversial image when a half dozen will do? That seems to be the tactic Rihanna is employing on the cover to "Russian Roulette," the first single from her upcoming album Rated R. It's got everything: the giant, gleaming blade "R" logo; the blood-dripping track title; a sinister peek-a-boo eye patch; gold corset; and, of course, her provocative barbed wire-wrapped torso.

While it's just the companion image to her single (so who knows what the actual album cover will look like?), the edgy picture has already set tongues wagging and gotten us thinking about some of our other favorite envelope-pushing album artwork.

(Click here for more controversial album covers from the likes of Prince, Nirvana, David Bowie and Bon Jovi!)

» No list would be complete without the bloody baby bodies and butcher outfits donned by the Beatles for Yesterday … and Today. The Fab Four were forced to replace the art on their 1966 album with a more benign image of them crowded around a steamer trunk. (Meanwhile, the original became a sought-after collector's item.)

» What's more disturbing? The image of a buzz saw slicing through a man's tight trousers as his bloody hands hold onto a metal codpiece, or the title Animal (F*** Like a Beast)? Whatever you think, metal band W.A.S.P. found out in 1983 that what really offended people was foul language, so a pair of stars were cloned in to cover up the offending word.
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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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Is Perry Farrell's Greatest Legacy A Suffix?

Posted 8/5/09 2:25 pm EST by in Music


Jane's Addiction frontman, Lollapalooza founder and flash mob enthusiast Perry Farrell has been in the business of rock music for over 20 years. In addition to Jane's, he has also fronted the supremely underrated Porno for Pyros and has worked on a number of other collaborative projects. He was the first person to provide a high-profile stage for many of alternative music's elite (including Nine Inch Nails and Pearl Jam) and basically invented the idea of the touring festival that was later copied by Warped, Ozzfest, Lilith Fair and a half-dozen others. But despite the fact that he's the guy who sang "Ocean Size" and introduced the world to Dave Navarro (which, in turn, gave us "Till Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave"), Farrell's greatest legacy is probably normalizing the idea of taking any word and putting "-palooza" behind it.

I'm neither a linguist, an etymologist or an anthropologist, but when Farrell first introduced the word "Lollapalooza" into the lexicon during the first tour in 1991, he not only opened up the use of the word (which generally describes any sort of vaguely chaotic gathering) but he also inspired variations. CNN referred to last year's presidential race as "Campaign-apalooza" dozens of times a day, and though it looks stupid in print, it sounded something like normal on TV. In my home town, our first recycling program was called "Recycle-palooza." A basic search for the term "palooza" turns up events like "Pet-A-Palooza" and "Polar-palooza." All of this seems perfectly normal, which in turn seems utterly insane. Shockingly, the word isn't in the dictionary, despite the fact that it gets used far more often than Homer Simpson's frustrated grunt.

So here's to you and your 'Palooza, Perry. MTV News will be on the ground blogging and tweeting live from Grant Park in Chicago all weekend. In the meantime, enjoy the video for Porno for Pyros' "Tahitian Moon."

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Johnny Cash, Jane's Addiction And The Father's Day Playlist

Posted 6/19/09 5:54 pm EST by in Music



Building a soundtrack for any particular holiday is usually a slippery slope, mostly because not every special event on the calendar is music-friendly. Christmas has any number of excellent songs available, and any good Memorial Day mix should kick off with Alice in Chains' "Rooster." But what about Arbor Day, or even Thanksgiving? The pickings are slim.

Father's Day falls somewhere in between. There are plenty of songs dedicated to dads out there, though the majority of tunes fall in the schmaltzy, sentimental pap category. There are also a number of tunes that address fathers in quite a negative light (not surprising, considering rock and roll is 87% about rebelling against your parents, not honoring them). What we're left with is a handful of quality selections — some more appropriate than others — that sum up the complicated relationships we sometimes have with our patriarchs. Here's the Father's Day playlist — crank'em up and make sure you drop your ideas in the comments.

» Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue": This epic, with lyrics by Shel Silverstein, was one of Cash's strongest live songs (check out the version from Johnny Cash at San Quentin for proof). It starts off pretty dark but (spoiler alert!) ends up having a happy ending. A perfect song honoring the bonds of fathers and sons.
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Original Jane's Addiction Lineup To Reunite For Los Angeles Gig Thursday

Posted 10/22/08 1:04 pm EST by in Reunions


Jane's Addiction

If you're a Jane's Addiction fan who lives within driving distance of Los Angeles, cancel your plans for tomorrow night. According to guitarist Dave Navarro's Web site, the founding members of Jane's — Navarro, frontman Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins — will be reuniting once again for a "secret" gig Thursday night (October 23) at La Cita Bar in downtown L.A. for what will be the original group's first full concert in more than a decade.
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Perry Farrell Reveals Lollapalooza's Best Seats In The House

Posted 7/30/08 4:51 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Lollapalooza


On Wednesday, two days before the start of this summer's Lollapalooza in Chicago, I had the chance to chat with Perry Farrell, the festival's mastermind. It's always awesome talking to Perry, especially since I count Jane's Addiction among my all-time favorites.

We talked about a lot of things: Will Obama be making a surprise appearance at the festival, as has been the popular rumor? Would Jane's be getting back together this year for an unannounced set? What changes were made to make this year's Lolla better than last year's? You can read all about that here.

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