The soundtrack to "New Moon," the forthcoming second film in the hit "Twilight" series, was originally supposed to hit stories this Tuesday, October 20, but fan demand (and a leak) pushed the release date of the hotly anticipated album up to today. The soundtrack, which features decidedly indie-centric contributions from the likes of Death Cab for Cutie, Muse, Thom Yorke and the Killers, immediately shot to the top of the iTunes album sales chart.
One music video has already come from it — Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox" — and it's possible there could be more. This is an excellent development, as many of the bands involved have a tremendous visual sensibility and could really push the envelope for a lot of these songs. Grizzly Bear have produced a number of trippy, engrossing videos, including the psychedelic "Central and Remote." Yorke, of course, has always focused on imagery (just as he did in the clip for his solo song "Harrowdown Hill"). And Muse's "Knights of Cydonia" is an appropriately epic, cinematic presentation.
To get a better sense of the sort of bands who are on the "New Moon" soundtrack — as well as the sort of imagery they tend to work with — check out the "New Moon" video playlist. It features the new clip from Death Cab for Cutie as well as contributions from Lykke Li, St. Vincent and OK Go.
With the extended trailer having debuted at this past Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards and the first song from the soundtrack — Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox" — premiered on MTV.com during that same show. Now a New York Times article says that the full soundtrack will be announced some time tomorrow, so now would be a great time to take a look at what we know.
According to "New Moon" music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, this album will have a much greater "indie" bent than the soundtrack to "Twilight" did. That makes sense considering the rumored groups involved. So far, it's almost certain that Thom Yorke, Bon Iver, Band of Skulls and Muse will all have contributions on the album. The Times suggested that the Killers and Grizzly Bear (you know, Beyoncé and Jay-Z's favorite band) have also been independently confirmed as being participants, but Patsavas wouldn't comment on either one. At Comic-Con, director Chris Weitz also mentioned that Kings of Leon were in the running for a spot, but there has been little mention of them since that initial suggestion. And the Used member Jeph Howard tweeted that his band was recording a song for "New Moon" as well.
So assuming all of the above artists will be included, that makes eight tracks so far. Other rumored contributors include Coldplay (one of "Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer's favorite bands) and Kelly Clarkson (a fan who wrote "Empty as I Am" because she was inspired by "New Moon"). Reportedly former "American Idol" runner-up Justin Guarini also submitted a song (called "I Can't Live") for possible inclusion. Whatever the final list may be, it'll certainly be an eclectic mix full of melancholy that should make for an excellent accompaniment to watching Kristen Stewart pine for Robert Pattinson.
Over the weekend, around 80 bands descended on two different locations in England for this year's V Festival, one of the U.K.'s biggest annual musical traditions. Oasis were supposed to headline the closing night, but singer Liam Gallagher caught a case of viral laryngitis and couldn't perform. (Snow Patrol filled in for the band in the top slot, covering "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova" in honor of their absent colleagues.) But the weekend really belonged to the ladies, as Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and the always-fashion-forward Lady Gaga turned in crowd-pleasing sets.
(Click here for more photos from V Fest, including shots of Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and more!)
The Killers, MGMT and Lily Allen also turned in memorable sets, but perhaps the weekend's biggest surprise came during the performance by the Specials. In the middle of their set, the veteran ska band brought out a very special guest to join them on two songs: Amy Winehouse. In her first U.K. performance in over a year, Winehouse backed the band up on "Ghost Town" and "You're Wondering Now" before ducking back out again. That wasn't the only appearance she made during the weekend, as she also introduced fellow British tabloid regular Pete Doherty before his set on Saturday. Though she wasn't necessarily in top form with the Specials, her performance was a far cry from her appearance at last year's V Fest (where she was roundly heckled) or her attempt at a comeback earlier this year in St. Lucia (where she cut off her set six songs in because of "technical difficulties"). The festival season is coming to a close both here and abroad, which is why MTV News will be getting our last licks in this weekend in San Francisco at the Outside Lands Festival.
Late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury broke down boundaries, played to sold out stadiums and with "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You" changed the way we experience sports. But he may have just received his greatest honor. In a poll taken in the U.K., Mercury took the top prize as "Britain's Greatest Ever Moustache." It's hard to argue with that logic, as Mercury's 'stache is pretty killer.
But is Mercury's lip fuzz the greatest in music? As this photo gallery proves, he's got some stiff competition. Brandon Flowers of the Killers sometimes rocks a very Mercury-esque facial accessory, and Rivers Cuomo of Weezer spent a few years carrying a full-on porn-stache. Of course, there are plenty of rockers who have spent their entire careers cultivating their mustaches, like David Crosby's bushy adventure and Bob Dylan's mysterious addendum. And the rap world is not without it's great facial hair either — just check out Ja Rule's fashionable 'stache.
But for my money, I've got to hand the award off to Metallica's James Hetfield, who has always toyed with his facial hair in various forms throughout his career. At the moment, he has a scary-looking goatee, but for a long time he had an elaborate mustache that was second-to-none.
(Click here for more of MTV's "Mustache Mania" gallery, including Jamie Foxx, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Eagles of Death Metal!)
What do you think: Does Mercury's mustache reign supreme or does somebody else take the top nose-tickler prize? Leave your thoughts in the comments or head over to Your.MTV.com to make your voice heard!
CHICAGO -- It can't be easy going up against festival head honcho Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction just across the park, but The Killers managed to put on a raucous show to close out Lollapalooza's South Main Stage Sunday night with a bit of swag.
Kicking off the set with "Human," the Vegas four-piece immediately got the massive crowd jumping and for the first time all festival, the females outnumbered the men for a South Stage headliner ... and boy, did they scream and sing along! An early-set "Somebody Told Me" had the women going wild for that familiar feather jacket-clad singer Brandon Flowers, and he seemed to smile like he meant it all night long. During "Bones," Flowers played up the theatrics like a pitch-perfect "American Idol" performance.
"I know this is a Sunday Night," said Flowers, "but this is the Killers! Let's turn this into a dancefloor!" he encouraged the massive crowd while introducing "Joyride." The live horn blasts really added to the one-two punch of "Joyride" and "Bones" and helped keep the crowd moving.
Before "Mr. Brightside," Flowers told a story about how the riff was the first demo he ever got from guitarist Dave Keuning - and how far the Killers have come. Just five years ago they were playing the early-afternoon slot at the Coachella Festival in the California desert and now in 2009 they were rocking out a proper headlining slot at Lollapalooza, closing things out with "When We Were Young."
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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by Steven Roberts
My fellow MTV News teammates
and I arrived in Chicago yesterday and we've started to settle into our rooms at the Hilton - yup we got
HBO - preparing for Lolapalooza. The three-day festival features performances by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Snoop Dogg and Tool among others. There are also a variety of other bands performing throughout the weekend. And luckily for us our hotel is located on
Michigan Avenue, conveniently across the street from Grant Park where Lolla is held.
It's so convenient that every band seems to be staying here
too. There are guys walking around lugging their equipment and checking into their rooms. The only thing is we can't seem to make out who any of them are. I
mean we're sure they're in a band. They wear tight jeans, tattered t-
shirts and have long, unkempt hair, but again, that's generally every
rock band.
We get back from dinner last night, and the hotel lobby is full of guys who look
like they're in a band. I'm the hip-hop guy here, so I'll admit I'm not that familiar with some of the smaller acts, but I'll be damn if any of you guys can recognize Portugal. The Man or Animal Collective casually walking by either. So we're standing around going "oh that's the
guys from..." "Yeah they look really familiar," and "there goes
Vampire Weekend."
I actually saw Vampire Weekend open for the Clipse about 2 years ago at Columbia University, so I would recognize those oxford shirts and boat shoes anywhere.
I guess the cool thing about Lolla is that by the end of the weekend we'll up on a whole host of new bands. So Monday when we see them walk by we can say "good show."
The new video for the Killers' "Goodnight, Travel Well" (from last year's Day and Age) shares a lot of similarities with past Killers videos: It's a lush, cinematic affair that compliments their epic songwriting nicely. But the thing that sets "Goodnight, Travel Well" apart from their past work is that it represents the second in a series of clips produced by UNICEF and MTV EXIT, both of whom are working towards fighting human trafficking around the world. It follows last year's video for Radiohead's "All I Need."
"Goodnight, Travel Well" focuses on international sex trafficking, an abhorrent practice that deeply troubles the band. "We are deeply shocked and appalled that women and children are forced into such exploitative situations," they said in a statement. "We hope that through MTV's efforts and this powerful video that millions of people across the world learn about this tragic form of modern-day slavery."
Launched in 2004, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) is a worldwide campaign that brings together musicians and human right workers to fight human trafficking around the world. In addition to the Killers and Radiohead, participating bands include R.E.M., the White Stripes and Placebo.
Last weekend, Sony Music and GenerationFly sent the winner of their summer internship contest to Wercheter, Belgium for Rock Werchter. Here are her dispatches.
By Kristina Truong
It was a gorgeous Friday in the small town of Werchter, Belgium, a perfect day for music festival craziness. After a rigorous 25 minute walk from our RV through farmland and cattle, my group and I found ourselves in a massive crowd of thousands of kids on their way to what some say is the best rock festival in Europe: Rock Werchter.
We finally got through the entrance and retrieved our press passes, granting us exclusive access to the VIP lounge. Once inside, one of the festival directors, Geert, from LiveNation Belgium, gave us a thorough background and history of Werchter and set us up with all we needed for the day to come.
After fueling up in the amazing VIP lounge, we made it out to the festival ready to rock. The lineup of the Friday show at Rock Werchter was incredible: Coldplay, the Killers, Bloc Party, Jason Mraz, the Streets and Lady Gaga, just to name a few. We met tons of people and made new friends from all over the world — the majority of the crowd was international and they were totally excited and psyched to meet and party with Americans.
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Perry Farrell does it to us every year. Yes, his brainchild Lollapalooza is one of the best rock deals for the money every summer, with more than 100 bands playing right on the Chicago lakefront in beautiful Grant Park. But whoever maps out the schedule grid must be a masochist, because this year's lineup has more than its share of conflicts that are going to force some serious musical Sophie's choices. I have already begun stewing over the ones that are trying to break my heart.
Friday is not so bad. Yes, I'd like to see White Lies, but I'll probably choose Jersey punk outfit the Gaslight Anthem. And as much as I've always wanted to check out nutso electronic duo Crystal Castles, by evening I'll probably need to be soothed by the dulcet tones of Fleet Foxes. The headliner spot is an easy one for me, since I just caught Kings of Leon but haven't seen Depeche Mode in six years, and I know their show will have a bit more flash than the Followill brothers' more straight-ahead set.
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