By Matt Elias
On Wednesday night, we hit the set of the Ting Tings' video shoot for "That's Not My Name." The shoot location in Acton, California — about 45 minutes north of Los Angeles — almost had to be moved at the last minute due to the California wildfires in the surrounding area. While the crew didn't have to battle wildfires, it was the cold that was the biggest nemesis. By 1 a.m., it had dropped to 47 degrees!
The video was directed by the same British duo — Alex and Liane — who brought you the Tings' VMA-nominated video for "Shut Up and Let Me Go," and this one was just as visually stunning. Set off the beaten path, bandmembers Katie and Jules find themselves ditching their vintage car off a dirt road and being embraced by a slew of sign spinners, cheerleaders, double-Dutch jump-ropers and drum-liners. Everything from the set to the costumes was accented with a special reflective material called Scotchlite. The resulting effect made everything pop on camera, even though you couldn't see the reflection to the naked eye.
While "That's Not My Name" might be the first song the band's early fans jumped on, this is the first time it's being released as a single in the U.S. The duo told us they had originally planned to release it first, but then a little company called Apple decided to use "Shut Up and Let Me Go" in last spring's iPod commercials. So following that momentum, the band is finally releasing "That's Not My Name" and is excited for their post-iPod fans to hear it.
Even though the band's album We Started Nothing is full of single-worthy songs like "We Walk" and "Fruit Machine," the Ting Tings said they're cautious of over-saturating the market with a bunch of singles in a row. They're looking to follow the same model they established in the U.K., releasing singles gradually.
Stay tuned next week for more from the "That's Not My Name" set.
The sad news about Travis Barker and DJ AM has inspired us to look back on their recent performances as the VMA house band — collaborations that featured Lupe Fiasco, Katy Perry, LL Cool J and The Ting Tings.
We've dug into our archives to give you guys the full songs that you didn't see during the broadcast. Watch the guys grooving along with Kid Cudi, Fiasco and the others, and if you look closely, you can see AM rapping to himself during LL's performance.
Watch the full videos after the jump.
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By Megan Warner
There's nothing like standing under a giant metal stage during a lightning storm — it gets the heart rate up.
But when fellow producers Sarah Muller, Daniela Capistrano and myself headed out with John Norris to interview the Ting Tings, the duo seemed unfazed by the whole we-might-get-electrocuted-out-here thing.
"I think it's dramatic," said Ting Tings frontwoman Katie White, noting that being from England, they are pretty used to the rain. "Maybe the pool will fill up!"
Mother Nature didn’t make things easy for anyone at the at the Jelly NYC Pool Party. I had to balance the wireless mic adapter at a certain angle to avoid static, and to keep both the camera and talent dry, we built a dome of umbrellas. But the wind wasn't having it. A sudden gust took John's umbrella (which he referred to as a small lightning rod) out of the picture, and he had to wrestle it back as it flipped inside out.
Find out how we survived the storm and watch footage of the show after the jump!
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· The Black Eyed Peas are set to perform today for about 700 people in Shanghai to support Red Cross relief efforts for victims of the recent earthquake in China.
· N.E.R.D., Death Cab For Cutie, the Ting Tings, and Lightspeed Champion are among the acts lined up for the second iTunes Live series.
· One of Jim Jones’ bodyguards was arrested on Sunday after a skirmish between police and the rapper’s entourage at Hot 97’s Summer Jam show at Giants Stadium.
· Rage Against the Machine took the stage dressed as hooded, orange jumpsuit-wearing prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detainee prison camp on Sunday during an appearance at the Pinkpop Festival.
