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Lady Gaga Gets Remixed By Passion Pit

Posted 1/27/10 11:35 am EST by in Music


By Joel Hanek

I don't know how the Internet does it, but it always manages to combine some of my favorite things. First it was cats and cheeseburgers. Then it was cats and keyboards. And now Passion Pit and Lady Gaga have emerged from the digital abyss that is YouTube with one of the coolest collaborations I've heard in a long time.

Over the weekend, the YouTube account LadyGagaUK posted a Passion Pit remix of Lady Gaga's "Telephone," the mega-collaboration between Beyoncé and the Clawed One from The Fame Monster. The album version of "Telephone" (a club anthem about, um ... going out to the club) deceptively starts with finger-picking guitars and a passionate plea from Lady Gaga to her lover about the growing distance between them. The ruse is quickly discarded when the song launches into its full synthy swing, driven by a thumping beat and Gaga's electronically-tampered vocals. On top of that, Beyoncé's powerful cameo nearly takes this song from dance track to fight song.

When I first heard about the collaboration between Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, I was skeptical, but it quickly became one of my favorite tracks off of The Fame Monster. Taking that in mind, I was eager to hear the Massachusetts indie-electronic outfit's take on the song.

The Passion Pit remix begins with Lady Gaga's vocals cranked up to The Squeakquel levels over minimal electronic grooves. However, like the original version, it soon transforms into another song completely. While Gaga's vocals return to recognizable, the song becomes completely disparate from the original, ending in a jittery electronic fusion that sounds simultaneously melodic and ominous.

What's your take on the song? Does it satisfy both Passion Pit and Lady Gaga fans, or does it leave something to be desired? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Matt And Kim Promise 'More Lights Than A Rave' At The Woodie Awards

Posted 11/18/09 1:09 pm EST by in mtvU Woodie Awards, Music


The biggest names in indie and alternative music have converged on New York City today, as the 2009 Woodie Awards go down tonight at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. The show will feature performances from Death Cab for Cutie, the Dead Weather, Passion Pit, the Clipse and Matt and Kim. The awards will be handed out tonight, and the show will air on December 4 on MTV. The show promises to be colorful and manic, especially since Matt & Kim will be there. The low-fi Brooklyn duo (who won a Video Music Award for their nude-in-Times-Square clip for "Lessons Learned") have a knack for rolling out splashy, interactive performances fueled by the group's boundless energy.

"We're gonna have a party on stage," Kim told MTV. "We always want that."

"I'm probably going to work some muscles that I haven't done in a long time," added Matt. "Even though I haven't worked out since 2000."

Even though the pair make their home within city limits, the prospect of playing Roseland — a classic New York rock club if there ever was one — excites them profoundly. "I've been two Roseland twice, and once was a really long time ago for a rave," explained Kim. "I think they had a little bit less lights than they do here. So there will be more lights than a rave but less glowsticks."

That sounds like a winning combination. Be sure to check out the show when it airs and December, but if you want to follow along tonight, Buzzworthy will be live-blogging the event, and you can check back to MTV News for a full report from tonight's festivities.

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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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Passion Pit Take Over The 24th Floor At MTV

Posted 8/5/09 5:50 pm EST by in Behind The Scenes, Music


By Jett Wells

It's not every day that Passion Pit just rolls into your office and turns your conference room into a makeshift dance club. Instead of staring at their blinking computer screens, lucky Viacom interns and employees got an electro-shock bolt of synth-pop indie rock — just the right jolt to get us through the late afternoon doldrums.

In honor of their MTVU Summer 2009 Freshmen nomination, Passion Pit played a high-powered four-song set in a tight space on the 24th floor at MTV headquarters. In the small space, only about 30 people could squeeze in to catch a glimpse of the fast-rising Cambridge boys.

Although there was a short delay because lead singer Michael Angelakos was missing his headphones, Passion started off hot with "Little Secrets." With ground-shaking bass and catchy high-pitched vocals, "Little Secrets" got the small crowd of college students hooked and grooving quick.

Considering the show was in a sterile office space and not a darkened club, Passion Pit played with amazing energy and class. In completing a short but solid performance, the band played three more songs including "Sleepyhead" and "The Reeling," which just this week got a Breakthrough Video nomination for this year's Video Music Awards.

With a view of the Hudson River and New Jersey behind them, Passion Pit's mini-concert was nothing if not picturesque. The show didn't have the big stage or the flashy pyrotechnics, but for what it's worth, the band played like they had sold out Madison Square Garden and all the interns and employees who showed up will never forget the Wednesday Passion Pit visited the office.

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Kim Stolz Braves The Elements For Passion Pit's Record-Release Boat Cruise

Posted 5/19/09 5:49 pm EST by in Passion Pit


NEW YORK — Last night, on a cold and blustery May evening, I boarded a boat with a few friends to check out Passion Pit's release party for their new LP, Manners. Despite the weather, hundreds of hipsters and double the amount of leggings came out to dance, drink, smoke and enjoy the new sounds from the Boston based quintet.

First, though, we had to get past the sea-sickness. At the dock on West 41st Street and 12th Avenue, the wind was a bit stronger than we'd all hoped, and much of the early night conversation turned to advice like "just watch the horizon" or "maybe lay off the drinks till we get moving." I even saw one or two dramatic haircuts leaning over the side of the ship.

Finally, the music picked up and the rocking of the boat turned to some of the most creative dancing I've seen since the Knife's concert at CMJ in 2007 (if you've ever watched serious Knife fans dance, you know what I'm talking about). Read More...

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MTV News Staff Favorites Of 2008: Rya Backer's Top 10 Albums And Singles

Posted 12/30/08 2:31 pm EST by in Best Of, MTV News Staff Favorites '08


We here at MTV News are a pretty diverse bunch, so the views expressed by some in our more official-type year-end lists (like James Montgomery’s Top 25 Albums and Best Songs, and the Mixtape Monday Awards) are not necessarily shared by the rest of the newsroom. So we’re giving everyone else a chance to chime in with their own lists and explain (or defend) their choices. You’ll find the staff faves of 2008 all together here.

By Rya Backer, Production Assistant

I'm actually on vacation right now, and am typing this on a computer that might as well be operated by foot pedal, so no fun webcam plea from me. I don't think I could pick a definitive favorite song from 2008 anyway, not because I didn't especially like anything, but because I liked too many songs! Anyway, here are my favorite albums of 2008:

10. Passion Pit, Chunk of Change EP — These guys have, like, seven songs to their name thus far. Very excited to hear what's next.

9. Neil Young, Sugar Mountain - Live at Canterbury House 1968 — I don't think this counts as a "new" album, per se, but half the bands I've listed would be nothing if it weren't for him. "Birds" and his between-song banter are heartbreaking and heartwarming, respectively.

8. The Streets, Everything Is Borrowed — Hooray! It's more A Grand Don't Come for Free than The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living!

7. Dodos, Visiter — At first, I listened to "Jodi" on repeat, then I realized there were a lot more songs on the album that were just as good.

6. Marnie Stern, This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That — Between Marnie Stern's fingerpicking and Zach Hill of my beloved Hella on drums, this album makes me feel untalented and boring; luckily, I need that kind of motivation. Read More...

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Are Passion Pit The Band To Watch At This Year's CMJ?

Posted 10/24/08 8:10 pm EST by in New Music Update


By Rya Backer

Passion PitIt's that time of year again — that time of year when music lovers the world over congregate in the hipster throes of the East Village, the Lower East Side and Williamsburg to celebrate all things indie rock and open bar. It's the time of year when, within a week, bands can break out or break up — and all the while, get handfuls of free stuff. Ladies and gents, it's the CMJ Music Marathon.

I'd conservatively estimate that 90 zillion unsigned bands from all genres have played this week. One of the bands we here at MTV News have really gotten a kick out of is Boston — OK, Cambridge — act Passion Pit. Despite having only been around for a year (one of their members joined about two months ago), they're poised to be 2008's CMJ success story.
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