This morning, MTV News correspondent James Montgomery presented some under-the-radar music videos that aren't getting any love at this Sunday's 2009 MTV Video Music Awards but still deserve to be recognized. Montgomery highlighted underseen and underrated clips from Coldplay, the Dead Weather, Wale and MGMT (among others), but I've got some picks of my own.
First, how could anybody ignore the excellent clip for Hurricane Chris' "Halle Berry (She's Fine)"? Chris dropped what is one of the wackiest tracks of the year (second only to R. Kelly's "Tip the Waiter") and the clip features Chris wearing a band uniform (which is already a retro thing) and a Halle Berry stand-in who doesn't look remotely like the titular actress. What's not to love?
In the same ballpark, I loved The-Dream's "Walking on the Moon," which is not a particularly memorable song but has a video that features a spaceship that is an obvious stand-in for an Imperial Cruiser from "Star Wars." It's also got The-Dream wearing something on his face that makes him look like Geordi La Forge and an apparent set from Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream" video. Amazingly, it somehow manages to look cheap and expensive at the same time, which is no small feat. (As an aside, you know what other video maintains that juxtaposition? Wu-Tang Clan's "Gravel Pit.")
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Today we celebrate the birth of one of the more controversial performers of the last two decades. Fred Durst, the red-hatted frontman of Limp Bizkit, turns 39 years old today. Back in 1997, Durst's band stormed onto the rock scene with a bristling mix of metal, hardcore, hip-hop and Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque sex funk. The group first gained attention with their extra-loud cover of George Michael's "Faith," but they made the crossover into superstardom with 1999's Significant Other (which featured the hits "Nookie" and "Break Stuff"). Durst became a staple on "TRL" and — along with his friends in Korn — built a tiny nation of disaffected suburban youth.
His career has not been without controversy. In addition to being accused of inciting riots at Woodstock '99, Durst has had public altercations with stars like Creed's Scott Stapp and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland, while he's claimed in public to have had sexual relationships with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. (There was also an unfortunate sex tape incident.)
The turn of the millennium wasn't kind to Limp Bizkit. Despite the success of Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water, the band produced a pair of albums that landed with a thud and had to deal with the departure of guitarist and muse Wes Borland. But Durst made hay getting involved in film. A longtime director of Limp Bizkit videos (as well as clips for Korn, Cold and Staind), Durst has directed two feature films: The surprisingly sensitive "The Education of Charlie Banks" and the underrated football film "The Longshots." He's currently touring with the reunited Limp Bizkit (once again featuring Borland on guitar) and plans on releasing a new album once the run wraps up. Here's hoping he gets back to the business of making videos, for as "N 2 Gether Now" proves, he has a knack for it.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the final day of the original Woodstock (the music actually carried over into the wee hours of August 18), so a lot of people are re-evaluating the lasting legacy of the festival. Did it really usher in a message of peace and love, or was it simply the beginning of a brand name? Is it truly a great representation of the era's mentality or just another slice of Boomer nostalgia? Whatever the case, Woodstock left a pretty bad taste in everybody's mouth when the festival celebrated its 30th anniversary with another three-day affair in upstate New York, featuring Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The aggro attitude of the music combined with the questionable resources of the festival and a general feeling that everybody had been ripped off led to violent mosh pits, multiple cases of sexual assault, vandalism and fires. MTV was there live (and often the victim of the crowd's aggression) and captured the debauchery on film.
The aftermath certainly put the concept of Woodstock to bed for a while. In fact, promoters intended on celebrating the 40th anniversary with another festival but had trouble recruiting sponsors and support funds. The now-poisonous Woodstock name probably had something to do with it, but they were also dealing with a frigid economy and a musical landscape overflowing with festivals (in '99, Coachella was a small upstart event, Lollapalooza was dormant and events like Bonnaroo, All Points West, Outside Lands and Virgin Fest were years off). But Woodstock '99 didn't do the legacy any favors, and replaced the images of peace and love with notions of aggression, misogyny and greed. It certainly taught future festival organizers what not to do, but couldn't we have learned those lessons without so much unchecked brutishness?
What do you think: Were the Woodstock '99 organizers to blame, or did the bands not do enough to try to control the crowd? Was it simply a matter of macho guys trying to outdo each other? Leave your thoughts in the comments or head over to Your.MTV.com and make your voice heard!
The Limp Bizkit "Unicorns N' Rainbows" reunion tour has been underway for almost a month, and the band has finally announced the first U.S. stop on the tour. The newly reconstituted band will headline The Beach at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Friday, July 10 as part of the UFC Fan Expo, leading up to the history UFC 100 on July 11.
It has been eight years since the original lineup (including just-returned guitarist Wes Borland) has played a show in North America. It's an appropriate return, as a band who had a huge hit called "Break Stuff" makes perfect sense as the opening act for a mixed martial arts event. If you won't be in Vegas to watch Brock Lesnar take on Frank Mir and see Thiago "The Pitbull" Alves challenge Geroges "Rush" St-Pierre, the concert will also stream live on UFC.com.
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time that the Bizkit has appeared on a show headlined by current UFC Heavyweight Champion Lesnar: Fred Durst and friends also played live at WrestleMania XIX in 2003 in Seattle. On that show, Lesnar was wrestling for the WWE championship and famously knocked himself unconscious while attempting a top-rope move. Hopefully the presence of Durst doesn't jinx the champ a second time.
I know that Dave Matthews Band's new #1 album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, is a tribute to their late saxophonist LeRoi Moore, so I feel weird making fun of it. I applaud the band's devotion to the guy, and his death is genuinely tragic. But seriously: Is that title not the biggest "WTF?" in the history of top-of-the-chart records?
I was curious, so I did a little digging. As it happens, there are a number of other titles that looked a little weird, or were hard to say, or otherwise just seemed ridiculous representing the most-bought album in this country. Before I get to the list, I want to make two points. First of all, it's really interesting going back in time to look at the chart-topping albums through the years. This is especially true when you get into the '80s and early '90s, where single albums would rule for months at a time (Prince's Purple Rain stood on top of the charts for over 20 consecutive weeks). Because of the dominance of so few albums, it made it difficult for zany names to sneak into the mix. (It should also be noted that the #1 albums started turning over a lot more once SoundScan started tracking accurate sales, which is telling.) Secondly, the titles that are overly wordy tended to draw most of my focus. Though there are plenty of single-word titles that still don't feel easy to say (U2's Zooropa, for example), it's the eight-, 10- and 12-syllable titles that cross over into truly ridiculous territory.
Anyway, here's the list. Did I leave any off?
10: Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King (2009)
Turns out plenty of stuff is wackier.
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The nice thing about being the guitarist in Marilyn Manson's band is that you know you won't be wearing the greasepaint and getting dry-humped by the singer for very long. Nothing lasts forever, least of all a gig with the former king of shock rock. The latest recruit to Team Manson is none other than former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland, who already loves wearing goofy makeup, and whose promotion to the gig was announced by Manson at a press conference a day before Borland was to make his live debut with the band at a show in Seoul, South Korea, as first reported by Blabbermouth.
Borland joins a distinguished list of Manson guitarists that includes Daisy Berkowitz, Mark Chaussee, Tim Skold, Zim Zum and John 5 (luckily for Borland, his new boss isn't making him come up with some goofy stage name). Read more...
