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Russell Brand Knows What It Takes For A Successful Marriage: Proper Etiquette

Posted 10/22/10 11:30 am EST by in Music


This weekend, Russell Brand and Katy Perry will be tying the knot after a whirlwind romance that saw its first spark at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The pair have already arrived in India, where they will be joined by friends and family for what will likely be one of the best parties of the year. The pair make for a fascinating couple, as they both seem relatively unhinged in their public lives but quite grounded and level-headed in private.

It's the first marriage for both Brand and Perry, so they are each wading into uncharted waters. But Brand already knows the secret to a quality marriage: proper etiquette. The actor, comedian and writer recently sat down with MTV News' Josh Horowitz (ostensibly to discuss Brand's recently-released memoir "Booky Wook 2: This Time It's Personal") to chat about appropriate manners in a number of different social scenarios. Being an Englishman, Brand is well aware of the importance of proper comportment, and he was more than happy to share his secrets with Horowitz.

According to Brand, most situations can be remedied with a simple kiss on the lips. Also necessary: Having a proper solution when your date is in "that time of her cycle," being amenable to going the extra mile during a job interview (including allowing your prospective boss to throw popcorn at you) and eating strawberries out of another person's mouth. In fact, Brand even gets into proper marriage etiquette, which will serve him well this weekend and beyond.

So best of luck to those two crazy kids, and here's hoping that Brand takes all of his own advice.


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The Jet Blue Flight Attendant Follows Fiona Apple, Johnny Rotten In Best Breakdowns At Work

Posted 8/10/10 11:30 am EST by in Music


The world is buzzing over Steven Slater, a flight attendant for Jet Blue airlines who got fed up with his job, went on a profanity-laden tirade over the public address system on a plane sitting on the runway, grabbed a couple of beers and escaped via the inflatable slide designed to be used as an escape (he was arrested shortly thereafter). Slater has become something of a folk hero, dividing the people who thought what he did was totally nuts and the people who are saying this incident is a moment that expressed the rage of many in the service industry.

Also, it was seriously rock and roll.

Which is why, for today at least, we're making Slater an honorary rock star and putting him in the class of top musical temper tantrums. He joins the following icons.

Fiona Apple
In a performance that still lives in the lore of live music in New York City, Fiona Apple took the stage at Roseland Ballroom and made things rather problematic for all involved. She was so upset by the sound problems she was having that she started ranting about the club staff, threatening journalists not to pan her, crying and leaving the stage twice. She only got through a handful of songs before calling it quits.

Johnny Rotten
In one of the most famous breakdowns in history, Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten decided that his band had come to the end, and he yelled at the crowd "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" He then walked out both on the fans in the club and the band itself.

Axl Rose
Always a moody performer, Rose ascended to new heights at a show in Montreal in the summer of 1992. Read More...

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Nickelback Officially Less Popular Than A Pickle (On Facebook)

Posted 2/24/10 3:07 pm EST by in Music


It must be tough being a member of Nickelback. Sure, they have sold millions of albums, sold out venues all over the world and are responsible for at least two songs ("Photograph" and "Rockstar") that will be rock radio staples for decades to come.

But at the same time, you've got people mocking you constantly, and your band name is regularly used as an insult or shorthand for bland, faceless rock. It's a bummer. And now comes the latest blast of humiliation. A few weeks ago, a woman named Coral Anne launched a Facebook campaign with a very simple goal: Getting a simple dill pickle to snag more fans than the official Facebook page for Nickelback. In the way that tends to happen on Facebook, it quickly went from a simple inside joke to a viral campaign that saw hundreds of thousands of people siding with the pickle.

But unlike many Facebook gags of this nature, it just kept going. Last night, it finally happened: The pickle managed to top Nickelback. The current count for the pickle is 1,481,561 fans (and counting), eclipsing the band's 1,422,156.

It has been a good week for grassroots viral campaigns, as not only did the pickle beat Nickelback (or "Nickleback," as the Facebook group called them), but the campaign to get Betty White to host "Saturday Night Live" appears to be working. That also began as a Facebook campaign, and the over 450,000 people who have endorsed the idea have caught the attention of the producers of "SNL."

What do you think? Is the pickle vs. Nickelback feud funny or just sort of mean? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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Lil Wayne And Justin Bieber: What Their Collaboration Might Sound Like

Posted 2/23/10 3:20 pm EST by in Music


Justin Bieber has already surrounded himself with a number of great collaborators and influences, from Usher to Ludacris to Drake to The-Dream. There's one collaboration that will have to wait, though. During an event at a high school in California, Bieber told E! that he wants to collaborate with Lil Wayne once the rapper is released from prison.

For his part, it seems like Weezy is amenable to the idea, as he gave Bieber a shout-out on a Ustream session (not to mention Bieber acknowledged the nod on his Twitter).

We've got at least a year before the two will be able to tag team, which gives us plenty of opportunity for speculation about what such a track could sound like. Here's what we would put on their mash-up EP in the meantime.

"Drop Down to Earth"
Combination: Weezy's "Drop the World" (from Rebirth) and Bieber's "Down to Earth"
Sample Lyric: "Just hope you're heaven sent/ And you're hell-proof/ I never thought that it'd be easy/ 'Cause we're both so distant now/ And the walls are closing in on us/ And we're wondering how?"
Analysis: You can't tell whose lyric is whose, can you? The strangely intense words from Bieber's song would meld nicely with Weezy's Rebirth single. Also, it would mark a nice transition into rock for Mr. Bieber.

"One Less Lollipop Girl"
Combination: Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl" and Wayne's "Lollipop"
Sample Lyric: "Don't need these other pretty faces like I need you/ She ain't never had a love like mine/ And I ain't never seen a ass like hers"
Analysis: Every combination needs a slow jam, and Weezy and Justin could become the 21st century version of K-Ci and JoJo.

"Crazy First Dance"
Combination: Lil Wayne's "Crazy" (from the Da Drought 3 mixtape) and Bieber's "First Dance"
Sample Lyric: "When I close my eyes I see me and you at the prom/ No red lights inside/ Just a bare room with green lights"
Analysis: The ultimate mash-up, as it combines Weezy, Bieber, the beat from Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," Usher and whatever else happened to pop up in the studio that day. Come on, don't pretend like you don't wish this was on a mixtape right now.

Or maybe it would go a little something like this.

What would you like to hear from a Weezy/Bieber collaboration? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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GG Allin Bobblehead ... Now With More Blood And Filth!

Posted 10/30/09 4:00 pm EST by in Music


It's kind of hard to beat a shelf that already sags under the weight of bobbleheads of Jason Vorhees, Napoleon Dynamite, Al Franken and the 40-Year-Old Virgin (complete with realistic chest hair removal patterns). But then I feasted my eyes on the piece de resistance of completely unnecessary but must-have gross-out collectibles: The GG Allin 1991 Extra Filthy Bloody Edition bobble.

Aggronautix, the same demented people who have created wobbly-necked figurines of such similarly obscure punk rock icons as Tesco Vee of the Meatmen, Milo of the Descendents and the barely-legal Dwarves, have truly gone all out for the second edition of the Allin figure, which commemorates the scat-loving punk icon in all his messy glory.

From the bloody hematoma on his forehead to the true Manchu beard-mustache combo, bloody cuts on his body and guaranteed-to-offend tattoos, this seven-inch tall likeness of the late punker best known for using the stage as a toilet, performing naked and attacking his fans is for the hardcore only. A reissue of a 1991 bobblehead, this new, 500 numbered unit version promises "copious amounts of blood and filth."

Have we mentioned that the GG figure gets a thumbs up from "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips? (Keeping in mind that his directorial debut was the Allin documentary "Hated," so maybe he’s a bit biased.)

It's never too early to start your holiday shopping, so grab one of these and cross mom off of your list!

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R. Kelly Finds Alternative Revenue Stream At New York Show

Posted 10/19/09 11:21 am EST by in Music


I got an e-mail last week from my friend Lane. "Let's go to the R. Kelly show at Madison Square Garden," it read. Of course, I was on board. I've been a fan of Kelly's for years and have written extensively about him (frustratingly, my essay on the greatness of Double Up is somehow not available online), but have never gotten the chance to see the man in person. What I got was incredible. The concert was full of Kelly-isms, surreal moments and (naturally) hit songs. But the greatest thing I saw all night was this:

If it's unclear (as most iPhone photos are), that's a station set up featuring two giant airbrushed murals of R. Kelly that you could stand in front of to get your picture taken. The price? $20. And the line to get these pictures was huge. When Lane attempted to get a closer look, he was chased away by the proprietor of this particular vending station. It was pretty remarkable, especially considering that the airbrushing wasn't even that good. I could understand paying a few dollars to stand next to a wax statue or a realistic stand-up of Kels, but a cheap airbrushed mural? I was taken aback.

Still, in typical R. Kelly fashion, he saved the real insanity for the stage. Read More...

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Smashing Pumpkins Giving Away New Album Teargarden By Kaleidyscope

Posted 9/17/09 12:30 pm EST by in Music


Billy Corgan has always believed in the notion of "go big or go home." The Smashing Pumpkins founder and only current original member of the beloved '90s Chicago power rock group, has practically made the grandiose concept album his calling card.

And his latest mind-bender is no exception. Following in the footsteps of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, Corgan will be offering his band's latest, the cryptically titled 44-song opus Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, online for free beginning next month. Based on "The Fool's Journey," the metaphor for the journey of life in the Tarot card world, Corgan said the album "harkens back to the original psychedelic roots of the Smashing Pumpkins; atmospheric, melodic, heavy and pretty."

Still being recorded, the entire cycle is slated for completion in early 2010, to be followed by a world tour in the spring. Current plans call for the free songs to be released four at a time beginning around Halloween, with no requirements for fans to sign up for fan clubs or offer their e-mail addresses. While the songs will initially appear online, Corgan will also offer 11 limited-edition EPs that will represent the physical manifestation of the whole album.

Once the whole hot mess has unfolded, the Grand Pumpkin has also promised to compile it into a box set, which he said will be different from the limited-edition EPs. You can find out more at Corgan's official site. And if you like Corgan's take on spirituality but don't want all that silly music to get in the way, you can check out his new blog Everything From Here to There.

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Madonna's New Video Inspires The Resurrection Of 'Video Safari'

Posted 9/1/09 12:48 pm EST by in Music


Today marks the release of Madonna's newest video, and by some count it may be her 70th — yes 70th — music video since the beginning of her career. And even though her new clip for "Celebration" isn't particularly noteworthy or interesting (air-humping in front of a backdrop again, Madge?), you have to toast Madonna for her incredible feat.

So in honor of Madonna's extensive videography, MTV News decided to dust off an old pilot of mine that never got off the ground. It's called the "Video Safari," and it's probably the most bizarre thing MTV has ever let me try. (And considering I produced this, and this and a TV show in which a giant Suri Cruise cardboard cutout came to life to save me from a suicide attempt, that's saying a lot.)

But first, some backstory.

In early 2007, an MTV bigwig approached me to brainstorm some creative ways to present an artist's videography that he could include in the then-new show "FNMTV." My trusty cohort CJ Smith and I came up with a bunch of ideas, one of which was this "Video Safari" treatment. We liked how old-school MTV it felt, from the oddball costume to the public-access green screen.

Unfortunately, the brass at MTV despised it. Our silly segment just didn't fit in with the super-slick, highly-produced, expensive-looking TV show they were making, so "Video Safari" was left to collect dust in the MTV library. Until today!

So check out this oddity from the MTV vault. Yep, it looks like it cost $15 to produce, and it's out-of-date since it was produced before Hard Candy came out in stores, but we still have an affection for it around these parts and I'm happy it’s getting seen by a couple of eyeballs today.

Fun fact: We produced this at the same time that I was having a complete and utter mental breakdown! I was recapping the seventh season of "American Idol" and the fifth season of "Project Runway" at the same time. I was averaging about three hours of sleep a night and about three triple espressos an hour. I literally lost 15 pounds in two weeks, and we had to push back shooting once because I was so delirious and dysfunctional. If you look closely, you can see how dead my eyes look in this video (just like Lindsay Lohan in her "I Know Who Killed Me" era!). Crazy, right?

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