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MTV's Musical March Madness: Phoenix Vs. Phish, The Strokes Vs. MGMT

Posted 3/17/11 11:30 am 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!

Welcome to the East bracket, the last of the four regions of the first round of the 2011 MTV Musical March Madness tournament. The East contains some of the most elite and critically-acclaimed squads in the entire field, and it should make for some amazing match-ups.

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!

(5) Phoenix vs. (12) Phish
Phoenix spent most of 2010 elevating themselves to new heights, scoring more hits from their 2009 album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (including the bouncy "Lisztomania"), headlining Lollapalooza and selling out Madison Square Garden. Phish continue to be one of the most popular touring acts in the world and have one of the most massive Internet presences of any rock band. Which one will find themselves in round two? You decide!

(4) The Strokes vs. (13) MGMT
After a four year hiatus, the Strokes are back with a vengeance. They went on a well-received reunion tour last year and have an excellent new album called Angles hitting the streets next week. MGMT took some lumps in 2010 (their second album Congratulations was a very polarizing release), but they remain one of the key members of the modern indie rock community. Which New York favorites will move on?

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.

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Celebrate Mardi Gras 2011 With Miley Cyrus And LCD Soundsystem

Posted 3/8/11 9:30 am EST by in Music


Happy Mardi Gras, everybody! Though it falls a little later on the calendar this year, that just means that revelers are slightly more well-rested for the partying, fun and debauchery that will be unfolding today and all week in New Orleans. As is typical of most celebrations this season, the weather won't be playing nice with anybody (most of Louisiana will be under a blanket of severe thunderstorms today and tomorrow), but that shouldn't stop people from raising their glasses and flashing their naughty bits at total strangers.

In order to put yourself in a proper Mardi Gras mindset, take a spin through the video playlist below. It's a six pack of killer tracks, including Better Than Ezra's "King of New Orleans" (as thrilling a bayou anthem as there is on the rock scene), Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." (because Mardi Gras is an excellent reason to put your hands up and "moving your hips like yeah"), MGMT's "Flash Delirium" (as the barrage of bare chests is sometimes disorienting), "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Fat" (an ode to the sort of excess that Mardi Gras brings with it) and My Chemical Romance's "Welcome to the Black Parade" (because even a party this big needs a little bit of darkness).

But we kick things off with a genuine rager in LCD Soundsystem's "Drunk Girls." Not only does it have a great beat that makes you want to shake around, but it also is a tribute to public intoxication. Click play, turn up the volume and laissez bon temps rouler.


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MGMT's 'Congratulations' And Yeasayer's 'Madder Red' Meet In The Middle Of Puppet Death

Posted 8/25/10 2:30 pm EST by in Music


By Joel Hanek

I know that many of you reading this blog are thinking, "Hey, I'm in a critically-acclaimed indie rock band that released a pretty good album earlier this year, but now I've got a new single and I need a music video. What am I to do?" Well look no further, my friends, because we've got your answer: Puppets.

This month, Yeasayer and MGMT both released music videos featuring melancholic puppet/human misadventures with themes of love and loss (think "Mac & Me," but with more death). Yeasayer released "Madder Red," a more subdued track from the psychedelic-splashed Odd Blood as their third single from the record, while MGMT released the acoustic "Congratulations," their latest LP's title track and probably the most conventionally structured song on the unexpected sounding album. These two down-tempo tracks respectively provide the score to two tear-jerking tragedies that (spoiler alert!) ultimately end in puppet demise.

So taking a page from the experts, here's the breakdown of what you need to release your very own puppet-centric music video this year.

Choosing Your Puppet
This may seem simple, but really there's a different puppet for every job. Both Yeasayer and MGMT's videos feature creature companions that are slightly macabre and grisly at first glance but actually pretty adorable (even if they are sans fur). Yeasayer chose an amorphous mass of viscera as their puppet protagonist, while MGMT chose a vaguely human, vaguely avian quadruped. When it comes to choosing your puppet, be creative! Remember: The best puppets are always the ones that can be anthropomorphized into great sidekicks or best friends.

Casting Your Human
At the center of every tragedy there's the universal idea that everybody experiences loss. The vessel to carry this to your audience is your human. Read More...

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MGMT Glad Congratulations Is Hard To Write About

Posted 8/10/10 1:30 pm EST by in Music


We're now a few months removed from the release of MGMT's Congratulations, which is one of the most divisive sophomore albums in recent memory. Seen as a bold step forward by some and an arrogant kiss-off to the fans who made them huge by others, the nine tracks on Congratulations leave behind a lot of the fuzzy frothiness of their smash hits "Kids" and "Time to Pretend" and instead dives even deeper into electronic purgatory and more complicated song arrangements. It was derided as their Metal Machine Music but is more like their Kid A — the album that requires a few listens in order for everything to be properly revealed and the one that may ultimately dictate their legacy.

The men of MGMT acknowledge that the album is difficult and that they felt the negative reaction, but they think more people are coming around after they are exposed to the live show. "I think it's starting to make a lot more sense live and people are putting it all into context and realizing that it's not all that much different from the last album," Ben Goldwasser told MTV this past weekend at Lollapalooza (while a storm raged outside a cabana). "We're playing about as many old songs as new songs, and everybody sees it fits together really well."

"If you read about it, it's more confusing," James Richardson said about Congratulations. "I think the fact that it's not an easy record to write about is a good thing."

People certainly got it at Lollapalooza, where the band performed a fantastically bouncy set full of punchy songs from both of their albums. And they were right: The songs from Congratulations do make more sense next to the older tunes and have a much better live feel than they do on the (decidedly more stifling) album. Congratulations will continue to be one of the most talked-about and debated albums of the year, but it sounds like that's exactly how the men of MGMT want it.

What do you think of MGMT's second album? Have you come around on it? Let us know in the comments!

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MGMT Get Wet At Lollapalooza

Posted 8/8/10 3:30 pm EST by in Music


See that up there? That's a pretty good example of what we in the business call "a provocative headline." Because earlier today, things were sort of lousy here at Lollapalooza, weather-wise at least. It was raining off-and-on for a few hours, which not only slowly turned Grant Park into an (even muddier) pit, but also wrecked havoc with our interview schedule.

So, when we finally managed to corral one-half of MGMT, it didn't take place on a sunny hill, overlooking the expanses of the park ... but rather tucked away in an extra-dry (and very nice) Lolla cabana. There's a reason people pay good money to rent these things for the weekend.

Anyway, while we were waiting to start our chat, we asked Ben Goldwasser and James Richardson about the weather (it's an old interview trick), which led to a lengthy discussion about just why the rain — and the accompanying slop it creates — tends to make for the best festival experiences. Or, at least, the best festival dancing. Something about body heat and the old "Lemmings" video game. Good theory, actually. Here, watch.

We saw at least a dozen people doing that shuffle already today, so it looks like MGMT know what they're talking about. Luckily though, things have already cleared up, so when they take the stage this evening, there probably won't be much in the way of dancing. Wait, that didn't come out right. You know what we mean though.

Lollapalooza 2010 is happening now — make sure to check out MTV News' Lollapalooza Live, streaming Sunday at 5 p.m., right here on MTV.com. And follow all of Lollapalooza on the MTV Newsroom blog. For up-to-the-minute updates, be sure to follow Kyle Anderson and James Montgomery on Twitter!

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'Grown Ups' Video Soundtrack: Bowling For Soup, Pussycat Dolls And MGMT Help You Prepare

Posted 6/25/10 12:30 pm EST by in Music


In a rare occurrence, the two major films opening this weekend are both original scripts and not sequels, remakes, adaptations or comic books. The Tom Cruise action flick "Knight and Day" will hit screens across the country, as will the comedy "Grown Ups." The latter film features a veritable all-star team of comic actors, including Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider. It's the comedy film equivalent of a supergroup (they're like the Traveling Wilburys, with Sandler as Bob Dylan, Rock as George Harrison, James as Roy Orbison, Spade as Tom Petty and Schneider as Jeff Lynne). The quintet play a pack of high school friends who get back together for a reunion and attempting to recapture and understand something about their youth. It's a sweet movie with an amazing cast (the flick also stars Salma Hayek, Maria Bellow, Maya Rudolph, Steve Buscemi, Tim Meadows and Colin Quinn, among many others).

Like any good high-profile summer flick, it requires an appropriate soundtrack for preparation. That's why we put together the video playlist below, which features plenty of modern classics about the art of growing up. There's a little Chamillionaire ("Grown and Sexy"), an appearance by Tiffany Evans ("I'm Grown") and even a hello from the Pussycat Dolls ("When I Grow Up"). There are also tracks about reunions (Stars' "Reunion") and tunes about having children (MGMT's "Kids"). But the soundtrack kicks off with Bowling for Soup's "High School Never Ends," a lamentation about those golden teenage years.

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Sweet 16 Voting Closes Tonight

Posted 3/30/10 11:50 am EST by in Music


There won't be any new polls put out today, but the voting for the Sweet 16 round of MTV News' Musical March Madness continues today. All polls will close at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night (March 30), at which point the Elite Eight will be set. Most of the Sweet 16 match-ups are still pretty tight, so even if you're favorite band is behind in the standings, there's plenty of time to stage a comeback with some well-organized clicking. Take a look at how we got here, and then give a gander at the current slate of games.

(6) Phish vs. (15) Coheed and Cambria
A heated head-to-head. Coheed and Cambria currently leads the race, but the Phish fans in the comments section keep declaring "P.A.W.: Phish Always Win." Can they follow through on their promise?

(9) Adam Lambert vs. (13) Alice in Chains
The grunge veterans currently have a commanding lead over Lambert, though you can never count the Glamberts out of any competition involving their favorite "Idol" star.

(2) Muse vs. (14) AFI
AFI went on an early run, but the people who turned Muse into a stadium-filling international phenomenon have also put them ahead in the standings. But it's still anybody's game.
Read More...

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Tokio Hotel Vs. Vampire Weekend, Owl City Vs. MGMT

Posted 3/29/10 10:50 am 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 second round is in the books and the Sweet 16 is set. Round two provided a number of stellar match-ups that went right down to the wire, setting up an intriguing round three. The voting will come fast and furious in the final rounds: The Sweet 16 will be presented today, with voting closing on Tuesday (March 30) evening. Wednesday, we'll present the Elite Eight, with voting closing on Thursday (April 1) evening. Finally, Friday will see the unveiling of the Final Four, setting up a weekend match-up that will deliver a final next Monday (April 5) — the same day as the NCAA basketball finals. Let's get the games underway!

(4) Vampire Weekend vs. (16) Tokio Hotel
The boys in Vampire Weekend eeked out a close victory against Phoenix in round two, while underdog Tokio Hotel steamrolled Radiohead. Could Vampire Weekend be the group that ends this year's biggest Cinderella, or are Tokio Hotel destined to go deeper?

(3) Owl City vs. (7) MGMT
In a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating tilt, Owl City managed to sneak past round two opponents Grizzly Bear in a match-up that saw a number of lead changes (it was the equivalent of this year's Xavier/Kansas State double-overtime romp). Meanwhile, MGMT convincingly topped Animal Collective, and were it not for Tokio Hotel's blitzkrieg, they would be the true Cinderella of this bracket. Can Owl City continue winning, or does its run end with MGMT?

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: MGMT Vs. Animal Collective, Owl City Vs. Grizzly Bear

Posted 3/24/10 3:00 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 first round is entirely in the books, and like the actual NCAA basketball tournament (which resumes on Thursday, March 25), there were a number of dramatic upsets. Check out James Montgomery's rundown of the first round and get ready for a fast and furious round two. Today, we take care of the second round match-ups in the East.

(2) Animal Collective vs. (7) MGMT
It was all chalk in this part of the bracket, with MGMT narrowly defeating Arcade Fire and Animal Collective taking out Faith No More after falling behind early. This is a great match-up, because it pits the most-talked-about psychedelic indie group of last year (Animal Collective) against the 2010 version of that (MGMT). Which side will stand tall?

(3) Owl City vs (6) Grizzly Bear
Owl City had a brutal time putting away the Gaslight Anthem, while Grizzly Bear made a convincing argument for their seeding by knocking out veterans U2. Can Owl City keep carrying their unlikely momentum, or will Grizzly Bear make their home in the Sweet 16?

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MTV News' Musical March Madness: Animal Collective Vs. Faith No More, Arcade Fire Vs. MGMT

Posted 3/18/10 11:00 am 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.

We begin the proper tournament in the East, which is a collection of critically-adored groups that could produce any number of underdog upsets. Let's get to the picks.

(2) Animal Collective vs. (15) Faith No More
Despite the distance between the two seeds, these two are closer than you might think. Animal Collective had a huge year, as they put out one of the most beloved albums of 2009 and are about to release a trippy, fascinating film called "Oddsac." After being absent for nearly two decades, Faith No More are back with one of the most hotly-anticipated reunion tours in recent memory. But who will prevail? The indie upstarts or the rock veterans making a big comeback?

(7) Arcade Fire vs. (10) MGMT
These match-ups are always dangerous, and it would seem that even though Arcade Fire have experience and stamina on their side, MGMT are about to release one of the most talked-about follow-ups of the past few years. In fact, they could easily be the Cinderella of this entire tournament. But which will come out on top?

Who do you want to win the MTV News Musical March Madness tournament? Let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comments!

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